Fundamental Theorem of Poker

1. Introduction

In this article

Avoid mistakes, while provoking your opponents to make them

How the Fundamental Theorem of Poker is relevant for your game

The renowned American poker player, theoretician and book author David
Sklansky postulated what was, in his opinion, the most important
theorem for the game of poker, his Fundamental Theorem of Poker (FToP):

The Fundamental Theorem of Poker

Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have
played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain; and
every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it if
you could see all their cards, they lose.

Conversely, every time
opponents play their hands differently from the way they would have if
they could see all your cards, you gain; and every time they play their
hands the same way they would have played if they could see all your
cards, you lose

This article comments on the implications and the conclusions of
Sklansky's FToP and shows how it has an effect on the game itself and
the choice of one's own playing style. It elaborates on different
standard situations like the semi-bluff or the free-card raise and
explains where the relevance and the usable application of the FToP lie
in these situations.

That's not the entire article...

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